Abstract [en]

Background: Children and adolescents in school who are dissatisfied with their bodies tend to start experimenting with food and their exercising behaviour which can lead to an unhealthy body image. Social media and other media also play a big role in how they affect women, above all. The challenge for school nurses is to identify and support these students. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe school nurses’ experiences from detecting and encountering students with eating disorders. Method: Interviews with eight school nurses were performed after snowball sampling and analysed using a meaning analysis of the context. Result:School nurses experience of detecting and encountering students with eating disorders shows that it demands competence, cooperation between mentors and the students parents together with an ability to show an open attitude and that it is important to build a trustworthy relationship with the students. Conclusion: Continuous exchange of experiences as well as professional guidance surrounding students with eating disorders would strengthen school nurses in their profession.